Did you know that ZIP codes were implemented only as recently as 1963? The ZIP code system was implemented in the United States in 1963 as part of the Zone Improvement Plan aka ZIP, aimed at improving the efficiency of mail delivery in response to the nations growing population and the increasing volume of mail. Prior to this system, postal workers had to rely on local knowledge to sort and deliver mail, a process that became increasingly impractical and inefficient with urban and suburban expan